Only the Squirrel Can Tell
by Cielag
Summary: Can Shifty the wolf puppy along with his master, Connor Temple defeat a wily squirrel?


**Characters**: Connor, Captain Ryan, Cutter, and the dire wolf puppy, Shifty  
**Spoilers**: None  
**A/N**: I own nothing of "Primeval" that belongs to Impossible Pictures and I make no money from this, clearly. However the dire wolf puppy Shifty is mine.  
**Summary:** Can Shifty the wolf puppy along with his master, Connor Temple defeat a wily squirrel?

* * *

"Whoa Shifty, whoa!" Connor yelled as he chased after the wily dire wolf puppy. Down the snow-covered hill they both went, neither really noticing their comrades shaking their heads in mild amusement at the pair. Connor hollered after the puppy, "Sit boy, heel! Sit, Shifty, stay… Shifty!"

But Shifty was paying him no mind. His target lay directly in front of him, bounding away at an astounding pace. The only thing that Shifty could see was the squirrel's tail which flapped behind it like some windsock caught in a hurricane. Desperately Shifty wanted to catch the squirrel and find out what that thing was. Digging his claws into the snow, Shifty raced after his prey. He'd get the squirrel this time! Nothing stood in his way! No Lester bellowing anger, no more leashes, no more cars to navigate around! Nothing at all, nothing but…

Tree…

The squirrel gave a joyous squeak and expertly scaled the tree. Seeing this, Shifty tried to halt his pace but found that the snow had become hardened and no longer held traction very well. It was as though he had struck ice! Shifty's paws went in all directions and his forward momentum sent his rear tumbling over him. In an instant Shifty was flat on his face, sliding into the tree. He landed in an unceremonious heap at the base of the tree.

From behind him, Connor saw the patch of ice and adverted his course just in time. When he saw his puppy take a nose-dive into the tree, concern flooded him. "Shifty! You all right there, mate?"

Shifty shook his head before lifting his gaze up the tree. Barely eight feet off the ground, the squirrel sat perched upon a tree branch, gazing down at him with a grin of pure arrogance. The little fiend! Shifty bared his teeth. He'd wipe that silly grin off his face this time!

"Ahhhrooooooooooooo!"

The squirrel didn't even twitch its tail.

"Oi you crazy dog!" Connor exclaimed as he snapped the leash into place on Shifty's collar. "It's a good thing this is only 1953, and Oregon of all places! Cutter would have my head if you pulled another stunt in prehistoric times!"

Shifty ignored him; there were far more pressing matters at hand. The squirrel continued to sit with its smug expression, neither concerned or worried about the human down below.

Connor ruffled Shifty's fur. "C'mon mate, let's get back home before Cutter…"

"Connor Temple!" bellowed the professor from the top of the hill, causing Connor to shut his eyes and wince. Cutter put his hands on his hips and shook his head at him. "You get that dog back through the anomaly now! What do you think this is, the park?"

"It's not my fault!" Connor exclaimed, looking up at him now. "It's not like Shifty knows the difference between the years! All he saw was that squirrel!"

Shifty continued to gaze anxiously up at the squirrel, who had begun chattering excitedly now at the added commotion from the hill. The tail thrashed about in time with its chattering. Shifty was all ears now.

"C'mon mate, move!" Connor instructed his wolf, but again, Shifty wouldn't have it. The squirrel was infuriating beyond belief!

"Ahhhhroooooooooooo!"

"Shut that wolf up before he attracts some of its cousins!" an agitated Captain Ryan hissed as he made his way over to Connor.

"Afraid of the big bad wolf, are we?" Connor teased lightly. The scowl from the Captain should have cleaned the smirk off of his face, but it only made Connor grin even more.

"I've got better things to do in the ARC than freeze here waiting for your bloody dog to catch that squirrel!"

Connor put his hand on Ryan's shoulder. "Think about it, eh! We're out here in the great Rockies with the threat of a wolf being our biggest threat! There's nothing insanely huge with big teeth that's going to rip our heads off nor some poisonous thing going to inject us and watch us slowly die in a fit of agony as we fall-"

"I get the point!" exclaimed Captain Ryan agitatedly, though a small smile of agreement shone on his lips. "Now get a move on it!"

"Listen, we've got more danger in getting frostbit than we do of a wolf attack."

"And about thirty squirrels lined up, ready to attack?"

Connor bobbed his head, his eyes glowing with eager thought. "Yes, yes, or that! Wow, I never thought a soldier bloke like you could come up with something like that! Being all tough and…"

His words trailed off when his gaze was directed up into the tree where indeed, about thirty squirrels had gathered. There came a tug at Connor's hand and he was suddenly relieved of the leash as Shifty backed away, whining pathetically.

"You don't think they're…" Connor inquired innocently, not brave enough to take his eyes from the deviously fuzzy army.

"No, they're not just curious."

"And they're going to…?"

"Oh yeah…"

Connor gulped and looked to Shifty, who was now a good five feet behind them and widening the gap between him and the tree. No longer was he the brave wolf that was ready to take on the rascaly squirrel. With tail tucked between legs and his ears drooped, he was the picture of coward. But hey, when faced with these odds, what else was there to do but retreat! Without giving a second thought to the squirrels or the fate of his master and friend, Shifty bolted for the top of the hill.

~


End file.
